Pak delivers WHO medical supplies in Taliban-controlled Mazar-e-Sharif

Pakistan on Monday delivered WHO medical supplies to northern Afghanistan's Mazar-e-Sharif, the fourth largest city of the country which fell to the Taliban on August 14.

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight - PK-234 carrying medical essentials from the World Health Organization (WHO) landed at the Mazar-i-Sharif Airport the first international flight to the city after the Taliban swept Afghanistan in mid-August, state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

The PIA is providing air transport for the operation while WHO will be arranging logistics on the ground.

Pakistan's Ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan confirmed that the national flag carrier took essential medical supplies of WHO to Mazar-i-Sharif in a cargo flight.

 

"First PIA Cargo flight with WHO medical supplies from Islamabad to Mazar Sharif today. A humanitarian air bridge for essential supplies to Afghanistan in coordination with international agencies. Thanx PIA, he said in a tweet.

Trauma kits and emergency supplies for hospitals, as well as medicines for treating chronic malnutrition in children are among priority items for Afghanistan, where 18 million people depend on aid, a WHO official said.

Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, fell to the Taliban on August 14.

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on August 15, two weeks before the US was set to complete its troop withdrawal after a costly two-decade war. This forced Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to flee the country to the UAE.

The Taliban insurgents have stormed across Afghanistan, capturing all major cities in a matter of days, as Afghan security forces trained and equipped by the US and its allies melted away.

Thousands of Afghan nationals and foreigners are fleeing the country to escape the new Taliban regime and to seek asylum in different nations, including the US and many European nations, resulting in total chaos at Kabul airport and deaths.